TRP: Gavi, Timur, and Graverunners (Cave Mother)
Day 268, reunion beach Soon as the boat started scraping against sand, Gavi was off over the side and headed for Timur. Her baby boy. He ran to meet her too, and soon as they were close enough she squeezed him in a fierce hug. "You're okay," she said. More to herself than Timur. She pulled back, looking him over. "You hurt anywhere?" she demanded, starting to look him over herself. Didn't see any wounds, but that doesn't mean there wasn't any. COYOTE Timur nodded, then went right back to clinging to her. "I'm fine, mama." He stared at the ground and choked out, "They killed Cousin Levi, though." ABBY Levi. Gavi held Timur tight, stroking his hair. She'd hoped that wouldn't happen. Hoped that Levi'd get the chance she had. But now... One more soul to free from Gruumsh's hell. "It's..." it wasn't all right. It couldn't be all right. "That's fucked up. He was... he was good to us." She scrubbed at her face, her eyes. So many of her family, dead now. It was a feeling she never got used to. COYOTE Timur stood awkward aside, eyes downcast. He didn’t think he’d ever seen his mama cry before. His hands fisted. “They’re not even sorry,” he said. ABBY Gavi winced. Yeah. They wouldn't be. "Hey," she said softly, resting her hand on Timur's shoulder. "Let's go talk somewhere quieter huh?" There was a little shady area, free of any other reuniting families. Gavi nudged them both over that way. "There's some stuff I've been meaning to talk to you about." COYOTE Timur went, reluctantly. He rubbed his arms nervously. His uncle, however, said he was a man now, and needed to act like a man. Maybe his mom needed him for something. Needed his help to avenge his cousin. ABBY Gavi took a second, trying to think how to start. She'd been so busy fumbling around, trying to find her own way-- hadn't really been checking in with Timur to see where he was at. And now... "Hey," she said, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Y'know I love you right? And I love-- loved Levi too. That's our family and, I want to see them happy and healthy, just as much as you do. Okay?" COYOTE Timur nodded uncertainly, suddenly suspicious. ABBY Gavi could see the look on Timur's face and she just knew this was gonna get ugly. God. Oh hey on that note-- Iomedae I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. Please give me a hand. Now to tear down the mindset she'd spent all of Timur's life building up. "But see the thing is Timur, I don't think that... what Levi, or Immanuel, was doing was... right for our people," she said slowly. "Do you follow?" COYOTE Timur faltered. His hands stayed fisted, and he averted his eyes. This was exactly what Cousin Levi said his mama would do. “But,” Timur said, then didn’t know what to say. ABBY Gavi waited a moment for Timur to finish his thought. When he didn't, she tilted her head. "But what?" she prompted gently. "You can talk to me Timur. I'll listen." COYOTE “Cousin Levi was trying to help our folks. You know he was. And— and Uncle Immanuel, too. This is— this is what Cousin Levi said you’d say. He said—“ Timur felt his face twist up. “He said you’d gotten... all soft inside, like a rotten peach.” ABBY Gavi ran her hand through her hair, letting out a long breath. "Yeah. He would say that," she said, soft and sad. "Listen. Timur... I've been doing a lot of thinkin' lately. And... your cousins-- your uncle too for that matter, I don't think they appreciate where I'm going with it. So just... bear with me a little bit okay? I'm gonna try to explain it. I want you to understand why I'm... soft. Okay?" COYOTE Timur nodded tightly. ABBY Gavi nodded back. Right. Okay. "All right," she said. "I told you about... how I died, right? Just for a minute, Luci saved me. And... I saw what the afterlife was like for us." COYOTE “Okay, but—“ Timur rushed to explain. “Levi talked to me about that, too. You know Old Yenk? Down by the river? He died not but last winter, fell in the river, and then the healers warmed him up and he came right back to life. Right? And he said the afterlife is full of, um, virgins, and stuff, but then Daddy— then Daddy said Old Yenk was full of horse-shit and probably hit his head and saw stuff that wasn’t real. So. So, the stuff you saw... I mean, Mama, I don’t mean no disrespect, but. But.” He waved his hands. “I think you probably just hit your head like Old Yenk. How come you think you know? You can’t know. You can’t.” He stopped, breathless after his rant, to see what she’d say. ABBY Gavi'd waited too long to talk to Timur. Waited too long and Levi'd beat her to it. "I know what I saw," she said. "And you know well as I do what they tell us the afterlife's like right? Young, full of fighting spirit, and constantly having enemies to take it out on. That's what I saw, Timur. Except the orc there weren't happy." She paused, resting her hands on Timur's shoulders and looking into his eyes intently. "Think about it. What kinda afterlife would you want? Maybe something peaceful, quiet, with good earth to grow plants in. There's gods out there that'd give it to you." COYOTE "Okay, but-- the fighting-- that's what we're supposed to want," Timur said. "'Course that's what we're supposed to get. That's what's good." ABBY "Timur, motek." Gavi rubbed his arm. "Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you do want it?" COYOTE'''Last Tuesday at 5:56 PM "Okay, but-- you're not listening!" Timur said. "It's not about... it isn't..." '''ABBY "Hey, hey I'm sorry. I'm listening," Gavi said. It looked like she might be getting through. Just, had to keep being careful. "C'mon. Talk to me. What's it about?" COYOTE Timur hunched his shoulders. "It's not about... what... I want. You're s'pose to like certain things. Like Uncle Bloodgrut always said." ABBY Gavi studied her son for a second. She'd done this to him. It broke her heart. "See, Timur, your uncle... he's bought into Gruumsh's..." bullshit "...teachings real hard. And I did too, and we brought you up to believe 'em too." She chewed on her lip a second. Now how to put this next part. "But the thing is, I started questioning that after... what I saw. And... I got a new god. One that won't look down on me for protecting my son." Her expression flashed cold and bitter for a second, and she found herself rubbing her thumb against the scar on Timur's throat. "I'm happier here, Timur. I'm still working on figuring out who the hell I am, if I'm not Gruuman, but I'm liking this person I'm finding under all that shit. And I just want... I want you to see that too. See that you're just perfect the way you are." COYOTE Timur's hands clenched so tight he practically vibrated with anger. "I don't care about Gruumsh," he cried out. "But-- they killed Cousin Levi! They killed him, and they killed Uncle Gruts, and-- and you don't even care! You're not even angry!" He backed away, and kept backing away. "You would've been angry before," Timur blurted out. "Cousin Levi was right. That rot got right to your head." And then he bolted, heading straight into the woods. ABBY "Timur-- Timur wait!" Gavi ran after him. She couldn't lose Timur too. She couldn't. "Come back, please!" COYOTE Timur ran, and kept running, skipping over fallen logs and ducking under broken branches. He kept running long after his mom's cries went silent behind him. By the time he stopped, the forest had gone dark around him. He bent over, breathing so hard it burned his throat. He turned in a circle. He had gone so far he wasn't sure where the Sanctuary was-- where anything was. He wasn't even sure where the path was, where he'd come from. He faltered, trying to retrace his steps, but there were no footprints, nothing showing behind him. Faintly, he heard a voice. He froze, listening hard. The voice sounded the soft murmur of wind chimes and leaves rustling... but it sounded like it was speaking. Saying something, maybe, though he couldn't make out the words, not quite. He turned slowly in a circle, then drifted in the direction of the voice. He could almost make out what the voice was saying. Maybe if he got just a little closer, he thought, dazed. It sounded... it sounded like his name. There was a light coming from the woods. Timur followed it, and disappeared deeper into the trees. ABBY "Timur? Timur! Where are you! Motek I'm sorry, don't run off like this! Come back! Be mad at me all you want just come back!" Gavi didn't know how long she tromped through the woods, calling things like that. But no Timur. Useless. Had to get help. Someone who, who was better at tracking and woodsy shit than she was. Gavi fumbled back through the brush towards the beach. Someone there oughta be able to help. Get her son back. She had to get her son back. She almost plowed into the pair before seeing them and stopping, recognizing them a second later. Hansel's human kids. "Luci!" She grabbed the younger woman's arm, wild and desperate. "You gotta help. Timur-- he got mad, he ran off, I can't find him and--" her voice broke-- "I'm scared. I'm scared he's gonna go back to Immanuel and he's already killed my son once." IZZY Luci jumped when Gavi came tumbling out of the brush, and grabbed onto Jonn's arm reflexively. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him pull his knife, but they both recognized Gavi quickly enough that no one got hurt. She stared at the explanation. She should ... get Hansel, she knew. But she also knew that time was precious when children were missing, and she had a spell that should be able to help more than Hansel would be able to. "Okay," she said simply. "We'll find him." The spell, unfortunately, couldn't locate Timur. She frowned, and had Gavi lead her back to where he had last been seen -- Jonn staying close at her side, looking nervous and wary -- then managed to find some tracks. She'd learned how to from an older cleric, when she was young. It had largely been to identify tracks, because she had a fleeting, fervent interest in the topic, but included tracking, as well, and she seemed to have retained much of the skill. She used a cantrip to make her staff glow, and light the path, and followed it carefully until the spell caught onto him. Then she moved more swiftly, with Gavi in tow and Jonn by her side. ABBY Gavi had her javelin out and was spinning it, pacing back and forth while Luci looked for the trail. They had to find him. They just had to. She bit her tongue to keep from talking. Snapping, asking questions-- hell if Gavi knew what'd end up coming out of her mouth. Then Luci started moving. She stashed her javelin fast enough she nearly stabbed herself with it, barely holding herself back from tripping over Luci's heels as she followed. "Where's he headed?" she asked lowly. "He's not going to the Sanctuary is he?" COYOTE The deeper they went into the forest, the darker it got. Ahead, the trees split into a clearing. A glen with a fallen log. Faintly, ahead, there was a noise: A rustling sound, almost like a voice, but not quite. Achingly familiar, somehow. There was a faint light through the trees ahead leading to a cave. IZZY Luci frowned, concentrating. She wasn't sure; she couldn't remember which direction the Sanctuary would be, from here. "Um," she said, and before she could make it any further, she spotted the clearing, and the light. They were getting closer. "No. There." She went straight for the cave, Jonn gripping her arm and making a low sound like an unhappy cat, but going along. ABBY Gavi nodded shortly. This was better. Something about it was... off. In a good way? The weird noises echoing from the cave probably, but it wasn't the Sanctuary. And if this cave was haunted or something-- they could just kill it and get her son back. I'd be fine. Even though somewhere, in her rotting bones, Gavi didn't feel like whatever was in that cave meant her any harm. COYOTE The cave dropped off sharply into a black pit. A cool air blew from the cave with a sickly sweet smell-- almost like rotting meat. Luci's staff lit the area ahead. An enormous spider shrank against the wall. Other animals-- an enormous boar, a collection of badgers, and a small army of mice, skittered out of the way as well. They watched the three humanoids with wide eyes glittering in the glittering in the light. They seemed calm; almost dazed. IZZY Luci kept walking in the direction of Timur, undaunted. Jonn gave a quiet ehhh and glanced at Gavi uncertainly, following. ABBY Gavi tried to give a reassuring smile, turned out more like a grimace. "Is he close?" she asked lowly, glancing at the animals. Something was up. She wanted to get Timur and get out. IZZY "Getting closer," Luci promised, ignoring the beasts and the unpleasant smell. Then, unfortunately, they reached a dirt wall. A dead end. She eyed it, and after a second, realized she should say something. "He's beyond this. Twenty feet, maybe. Not moving any longer." It was getting ... weaker, somehow, though. She didn't say that part. She dropped the location spell in order to feel for magic. Something very powerful -- enchantment, like the spells in her staff. "Dig," she said. It could be urgent. She didn't know why the location spell would have flagged. "He's beyond the wall. Dig." ABBY Twenty feet. Gavi pulled out her warhammer and slammed it into the wall. Should be deep enough that it'd be safe. For now. "Hang on Timur! We're coming!" she yelled, and pulled back to smash open the dirt separating her from her son once more. COYOTE The dirt wall crumbled, opening to the other side. The room was stagnant. It reeked like old flesh, trapped inside for centuries. The room was filled with bones. In the center of the room, there lay a hole roughly six feet across and six feet deep. There were animals in the hole-- two boars and a wolf-- digging. The wolf was emaciated, as if it had been digging for days. It was clear the hole had been dug by animal claws: the edges were ragged, and dead animals littered the room, some so old they were nothing but bone, others withered and rotting. Timur dug on his hands and knees. His eyes were fixed on the bottom of the hole. A voice called Gavi, whispering in her ear. The words didn't make sense, but she knew what she had to do: She needed to get into the hole. She needed to dig. ABBY Gavi's axe slipped from her fingers, clattering to the ground. She strode forwards, jumping down to the bottom of the hole, and began digging. The stone had no give, but that didn't matter. She dug. And dug. IZZY Oh. Oh, well that wasn't any good. Alarmed, Luci tried to dispel the enchantment, but it didn't do anything; the magic was too powerful. She should ... get help. From who? Perhaps Mishka or Goro or could teleport them both away from the cave. The effect didn't appear to extend beyond the wall. She squeezed her staff. Hm. "Gavi!" She tapped it against the cave floor. "Stop!" Gavi stopped. Then, when the spell wore off, she started digging again. "Fuck," she muttered. Another idea. She took Jonn's hand and pulled him away, further from where the dirt wall had been breached. Tapped her staff again. "Come!" ABBY Gavi stood and climbed out of the pit, obediently exiting the room and going to Luci and Jonn. And then the command wore off and she jerked, suddenly back to her senses. "Timur!" she cried, starting to move back in. Luci and Jonn's hands on her arms, and her own good sense, caught her before she could cross the barrier. She'd just get sucked back in. But these two... "You gotta go back and get Timur," she said, desperate. "Please." IZZY Luci nodded. She tapped her staff a third time, and focused on Timur. "Come!" COYOTE Timur stumbled out of the hole. He padded over to Luci, his feet bare and bloody, his fingernails broken or missing. Once out of the room, he swayed, then turned to go back inside. ABBY Gavi made a high pitched distressed noise and grabbed for him, hauling him further back from the cave. "Timur? Timur c'mon. Snap out of it. It's your Mama. I'm right here." IZZY Jonn moved slightly and quickly to put himself between Timur and the wall, keeping hold of Luci's hand. COYOTE Timur stared, dazed, at his mother-- then his eyes focused. "Mama," he said. His voice was slurred. "Mama. She's trapped in the stone. We gotta dig." ABBY Well that was worrying. How much of her son did Gavi have back? "Motek look at your hands," she said gently. "You ain't gonna do her any more good digging like that." COYOTE Timur swayed, then reached for Gavi's warhammer. ABBY Gavi caught his hand, and pulled him further from the cave. "I ain't sure that'll do much good either. Let's get back with the others, maybe one of them'll have an idea. Alright?" IZZY Luci took a few steps to catch up, pulling Jonn along. She tapped her staff against Timur's shoulder to get his attention. "Timur. Timur, who's in the stone?" COYOTE Timur let out a sob. Tears ran down his face, mixing with the red clay on his cheeks. "She's all alone. Mother. She can't get out. She wants her children." ABBY The back of Gavi's neck prickled. Something was fucked here. "What does she want her children for?" she asked, still guiding Timur away from the cave. Work 'em to death in a deep dark hole, looked like. COYOTE Timur didn't answer. "Mother," he said instead. "Mother, mother, mother." He looked up at Gavi with glassy eyes. "All mothers want their babies, Mama. Don't they?" ABBY Gavi shot a look back at the cave. "Yeah, yeah they do," she said tightly. How far'd they have to go before he snapped out of it? "Don't worry though. I got you. I'm gonna take good care of you. All right?" COYOTE Timur followed obediently, staring straight ahead with the same blank-eyed look. "The others will help," he said faintly. "Ish kama?" How many orcs? ABBY Orcs. It made sense-- Gavi'd fallen to the spell too, while Jonn and Luci had been fine. Still sent a chill down her spine. "Uh. I'm... not sure. How many orcs... where?" COYOTE "With the others." IZZY "Don't answer that," Luci said abruptly. ABBY Gavi glanced at Luci, and back at Timur. Yeah. Yeah that did sound like a good idea. She didn't say anything instead, just kept trudging on, watching for any sign that Timur was coming back to himself. COYOTE Timur continued padding along. He slowly scanned the area outside the cave, then continued walking. IZZY "Gavi?" Luci stopped at the mouth of the cave. "Can I talk to you, for a moment -- privately?" She glanced at Jonn, and he nervously went to stand by Timur. ABBY Gavi reluctantly took her hand off Timur's shoulder. "Take care of him," she said to Jonn before following Luci off. IZZY Luci lowered her voice. "He's still under some sort of enchantment. It's ... odd, however. It's very powerful." She looked over at him uneasily. "It's like what's in my staff -- compulsion magic. I'm not certain he's himself. And I can't dispel it. Maybe Goro can." ABBY Gavi ran her hand through her hair, glancing over at Timur too. "I don't got any better fucking ideas," she said tightly. "Do you got any idea what that thing was? And what the fuck it did to my son?" IZZY "No. Not really. I'm going to go look at it," she said. "You should get him to Goro." ABBY "You sure that's a good idea? What if you end up... you know." She waggled her scraped up fingers at Luci. IZZY Luci shrugged. ABBY "Y'know you and that staff's the only reason we got out too," Gavi pointed out. "Look, I know I ain't the paragon of not doing stupid shit but maybe uh, maybe try to figure a way to be a bit safer before diving right in." IZZY "Mm." Luci had already decided that she was going to do it and how, she just didn't feel like explaining herself. She sighed and got through it. "I'm quite resistant to magic like this. I'll cast a spell to bolster myself. And Jonn has rope. He can tie me off, and if I don't resist it, he'll pull me away. It will be fine." She paused. "Um. Maybe tell Mishka where we are, when you get back to camp, though. Just in case." ABBY Right. Gavi let out a breath. "Yeah, yeah I'll tell the fucking pansy," she said. "And if none of ya'll come back at a decent time I'll-- I dunno-- I'll figure something out." IZZY "Tell Hansel," she said. "And Vaala. And don't insult my stepfather." She turned and went back into the cave, leading a distressed-looking Jonn with her. ABBY Gavi almost grinned for a second. Tough girl. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you don't stay trapped if you get that way," she called after Jonn. Which probably wasn't as reassuring as she was trying to make it? Well. Best she could do. Now she just had to get Timur back to camp, fill in the others, and pray that whatever it was in his mind had cleared up or was cast out before too long. IZZY Luci went back to the dirt wall. She knew Jonn had heard her plan, because he started unlooping rope from his belt reluctantly. "You're just gonna fuckin' do this either way, aren't you," he asked. "No. I'm only going to do it if you help." He made an unhappy sound and tied a loop around his waist, then parceled out some rope -- peering into the cavern to judge the distance -- and tied them together firmly. Luci pulled a ribbon from her wrist to tie her hair back, and passed him her staff. He wouldn't be able to use it without the attunement, unfortunately, but she didn't need it being dropped in the cavern if she did succumb to the enchantment. The first time, she did. Dig. She had to dig. Her brother pulled her out, and she shook it off, dazed. There was dirt under her fingernails, but he had pulled her back before she'd gotten too far. "I'm okay," she promised, and tried again. DIG. It was stronger this time. She could tell. Her hands came away with broken nails, and she was annoyed. She cuffed up her sleeves. "Luci," Jonn pleaded. "I'm okay." She didn't tell him it was stronger. Once more, she told herself. Then she would stop. She had an escape plan, and she would be fine, she just didn't want to upset Jonn any further. "One more, okay?" "Okay." He wasn't happy about it. She steeled herself and stepped into the cavern again. No compulsion. She walked over to the stone to inspect it. COYOTE The stone was plain. It looked as though it had been scratched for centuries by dull, blunt fingernails and claws. Old blood and grime caked the dirt. There was nothing carved into the stone. However, there was a symbol written on the stone, smeared there by Timur: Luci, who speaks Orcish, is able to recognize this symbol as the Orcish symbol for "home." IZZY Luci traced her fingers over the symbol, tiling her head. She pulled a notebook out of her bag, and sketched her closest approximation of the rune -- she recognized it, but in case there was some minute difference that she wasn't picking up on, right now, she wanted a copy. "Luci!" Jonn called. "I'm okay!" she called back, frustrated. She looked around the cavern for anything more that might be intriguing or helpful. COYOTE It was a cave. There were rocks, and also some bones. IZZY She wrinkled her nose a bit, looking around. It was dark without her staff, and the air was unpleasant. Tucking her book away, she noted that the majority of the humanoid skulls seemed to have tusks. The symbol kept tickling at something in the back of her head, but she couldn't place it. There didn't seem to be anything more to learn, however. She backed out, frowning. She'd talk to Goro about it; he might know. Or Ombre. Or Mishka -- he often knew odd, esoteric things, though she wasn't always sure that he had them right. Jonn hugged her tight, once she came out. "Jonn, I'm fine," she insisted. He was still upset. He didn't untie them, and pulled her out after giving her staff back. "You should heal your hands." "What? Oh. It's minor. It isn't worth the magic." He grimaced and led her back towards camp. ABBY Gavi picked her way back to camp, taking her time to make sure Timur didn't trip over anything. The further they got from the cave, the more her stomach sank. No change. No change. No change. She went to find Mishka. That's who Luci'd mentioned first. She found him circling around and gave a sharp whistle, waving at him. "Hey pricha!" she yelled. Jogged over, tugging Timur. "Your stepkids are investigating some sort of fucking weird cave that compels people to climb in this pit and dig," she said shortly. "Timur got caught and ain't shook it off yet. Any questions?" COYOTE "My step-- my wha-- Roddy and Luci--?" Mishka double-checked over his shoulder. Nope, Roddy was within eyesight. "Luci and Jonn?" Oh god. Jonn never made any dangerous situation better. Mishka danced in front of her to stop her. "Whoa, whoa. Where? Can you lead me there?" ABBY "Yep but first I gotta go see if Vaala or Goro can do anything for Timur." Gavi smoothed down her son's hair, glancing around. "You know where they're at?" COYOTE "What? No. You have to show me where they are, first. Hey, hey," Mishka said. "Don't--" And then he caught sight of Timur, and his eyes narrowed. He bent, a little, inspecting him, taking in the wide, blank eyes, the dazed-yet-focused look of someone who had been given a magical command. Timur's eyes focused on Mishka, and Mishka jerked back. "Uh," Mishka said. ABBY "Hey they'll live for ten minutes while I take care of my son," she snapped irritably. Where was that fucking cleric-- "HEY! Goro!" Gavi left Mishka to do whatever it is he was gonna do and guided Timur over to where Goro was kicking at the sand. "Lissen there's some sort of thing in a cave compelling things to dig it out over that way, Timur got magicked, d'you think you can snap him out of it?" she asked, tight and urgent. LINA Goro scowled and squinted at her. "Wait, what?" ABBY Gavi tugged Timur over and planted him between them. "Timur. Compulsion magic. Fix it." LINA "Oh, sorry, I don't speak Demanding Bitch. You wanna try asking nicely?" He didn't wait, though, to examine Timur. He snapped his fingers in front of the boy's face. "What's going on, kid?" COYOTE Timur’s eyes focused on Goro, pupils narrowing as though he’d been exposed to bright light. He threw himself at Goro, knocking into him hard, fingers scrabbling at Goro’s throat as he shrieked. ABBY Of all things Gavi'd thought might happen-- this sure hadn't been one of them. "Hey, hey!" Gavi grabbed Timur, pulling him off Goro and holding her son against her. "Timur! Timur calm down." It was no good. Timur, her sweet boy who never wanted to hurt a fly, wouldn't quit reaching for Goro, trying to strangle him. Gavi was starting to hate that voice in the cave. LINA Goro stumbled backwards, thrown off balance, and landed on his ass. "The fuck," he coughed. ABBY "Hey your guess is as good as mine." Timur wasn't really struggling to get away, Gavi realized. Just kept grabbing for Goro. She made sure they stayed out of arm's reach. "This shit's new," she said, voice tight and concerned. "He was digging before, then just... real passive. Ain't been violent till now." LINA Thanks for the fucking explanation, finally, Goro thought, rubbing his neck. Didn't want to waste the breath ragging on Gavi, though. He was too perplexed by whatever the hell was going on with Timur. A cave, compelling people to dig, and also to attack him specifically. Sure, alright. Goro pushed himself up into a crouch. He stared at Timur a minute, then bowed his head, whispering in Celestial. He still felt wrung dry. Wasn't ready for this shit. Took him a long ass time, concentrating. Praying. He felt a headache gathering behind his eyes, probably from all his frowning. Finally, he felt the magic flow warm through his chest. He opened his eyes and looked up at Timur again, speaking the final words of the spell. COYOTE The magic washed over Timur. Despite its strength, nothing changed. ABBY Gavi gave it a couple seconds. Maybe it just took time to sink in. But Timur kept struggling. "It didn't work," she said. "Why didn't it fucking work?!" LINA Goro let out a small, discouraged sound, and slouched. ABBY "You got something else though right?" Gavi asked. Getting desperate now. "C'mon you're supposed to be some kind of fucking cleric. You gotta have something else you can do!" IZZY Luci had nearly intervened before, but then held herself and Jonn back. Gavi had Timur -- the situation wasn't escalating and no one seemed to be in danger. But Goro looked defeated enough, and Gavi was shouting at him, and that wasn't acceptable. When she stepped forward, Jonn was right next to her, and he knelt next to Goro like he wanted to help Goro up, but his fingers danced anxiously and he didn't touch Goro. Quietly, but firmly, Luci said, "That's enough. He tried. I tried. Whatever has Timur is more powerful than either of us. I'm sorry for that, but there is no reason to berate anyone." She shifted her staff and planted it in the ground where Goro could use it to pull himself up. Just from looking at him, now, she could tell he hadn't slept well. Frankly, she was surprised he could cast at all. LINA Ah, those Sterling kids. Fucking nice of 'em. Goro hated accepting a hand up, but he didn't like the idea of struggling to his feet in front of everyone, either, and he didn't want Luci or Jonn to feel brushed off. Taking the help won out. He grabbed Luci's staff with one hand, and Jonn's forearm with the other, and dragged himself up. "Thanks," he said quietly, still watching Timur warily. God, that was fuckin' disappointing. He'd thrown everything he had into that spell. He swiped a hand over his face. ABBY Gavi let out a shaky breath. "Yeah. Yeah you're right. Sorry. It's just... this is my fucking son." Her voice cracked. Dug her heels in the dirt and yanked backwards as Timur gave a particularly vicious lunge. She grit her teeth, clapping her hand over his eyes. Maybe if he didn't see Goro he-- or the mother-- would calm the fuck down. COYOTE Timur made a vague, puzzled noise and tried to push her hand away, then stopped when it didn’t move. ABBY Oh thank god it worked. "Hey. S'okay." Gavi wanted to stroke his hair but. Even if he wasn't struggling, Gavi felt it was better to keep him held tight. "Look. This Mother-- can you ask her some things for me?" COYOTE Timur made a vague, puzzled noise again. ABBY Okay. Not ideal but Gavi had to do something. "Hey, somebody go get... Hansel or that Goliath woman, or Joan or something. Somebody to hang onto Timur for me," she said. COYOTE Mishka moved to intercept. "Hey. Hang on. Gavi, don't..." ABBY Gavi stared him down. "Don't fucking what?" she said challengingly. COYOTE She looked pissed. Which Mishka got-- yeah, he absolutely understood that. Her fuckin' kid was in danger. Mishka didn't get the whole 'kid' thing, but he understood wanting to protect family. "Look," Mishka said, lowering his voice. "What are you gonna do?" ABBY "Smash that fucking coffin open so she'll get out of my son's fucking head." COYOTE Luci and Jonn were taking Goro away. Mishka had a split second to feel relief (no chance of the mystery kid attacking Goro again, that was good) mixed with apprehension. He needed to talk Gavi down, but he wasn't fucking sure he could. "Gavi, Gavi, Gavi," he said. "Wait. Hang on. Listen. I know you're pissed--" Wrong track. "I know you want to save your kid. But, let me tell you, as a person who has done a lot of stupid fucking shit with good intentions, let me tell you, you need to stop and think this out. You need to consider the consequences. Before you do things. Because otherwise-- otherwise--" ABBY "Otherwise what?" Gavi snapped. "You wanna bet if I let my boy go he won't go after Goro again? Or you? I gotta do something." Her voice cracked, pain and fear coming out from behind the fury. "I gotta help him." COYOTE "Okay, but." Mishka's jaw clenched until his teeth ached. He put himself in front of her so that if she wanted to get past him, she'd have to shove him away, though he knew it looked fucking ridiculous, considering she was a full-grown orc."If you-- Gavi, if you go and do shit without thinking about it, it'll come back on you. You don't know what smashing that fucking stone will do. It could hurt him worse. Trust me. I have fucking been there." ABBY "Do you got any better ideas?" Gavi demanded. "I can't just... I can't leave him like this." COYOTE Yes. Okay. Mishka always had ideas. "We tie him up," Mishka said. "Gently. I'll show you how so it doesn't hurt or damage him. Then we blindfold him, alright? And we can take watches looking after him. And then in the morning... in the morning, we can have the clerics try stronger healing spells. Better healing spells. Different healing spells. And then if none of them work--" He paused. "And then if none of them work, several of us can go to the cave with the stone. And you can smash it while we stand outside. Alright?" ABBY Gavi clenched her jaw. She didn't want to wait. She wanted to take care of it. She wanted to take care of her son. It... made sense though. She fucking hated it but. It made good sense. "Fine," she said. "We'll. We'll do that." She kissed Timur's head. "It's okay motek," she murmured. "We'll take care of you." COYOTE Mishka slumped, a little, in relief. Thank Corellon. His next options were hitting her in the head or... maybe stealing her kid and running off with him, then asking Hansel for help. "Okay," Mishka said, leading the way to his pack, where he pulled out a long length of soft rope. "We'll make sure your kid is safe." ABBY Gavi nodded shortly. Mishka was a jackass, but she believed him when he said he wanted to help. These were good people, and they'd help her watch out for Timur. "Hear that, Timur? We got you. We got you," she murmured, rocking him lightly before reaching for the rope. END Category:Text Roleplay